Tovarich` A Funny Boyer, Colbert Film

May 21, 1986|By Bill Kelley

1937`s Tovarich (12:30 p.m. and midnight, WFLX-Ch. 29) was a lively, engaging play during the 1930s, and, thanks to a strong ensemble cast and some fluid direction by Anatole Litvak, it became a funny screen vehicle for Charles Boyer and Claudette Colbert. They play a Russian prince and his wife, who take jobs as servants to a Parisian family. The supporting cast -- Basil Rathbone, Isabel Jeans, Morris Carnovsky and Melville Cooper -- is a blend of stage and screen actors. The premise was so durable it also formed the foundation for a French-language version, filmed two years earlier.